Level Up
by AuspiciousLeader
Summary: The last thing Maka needed on top of her heavy coursework was her annoying brother taking up her time. But when Black*Star persistently asked for help with his new YouTube Channel, she proposed a bet. If he can get 100k subscribers in two months, she would be the graphic designer for his website. There's no way he can reach that many, right? (Reverb 2015 entry check bio for art)
1. Chapter 1

_**September**_

In her defense, she was only ever half-listening to her brother.

So, when Blake (or more commonly known as Black*Star) asked her if she could create the graphic design for his " _amazing_ new YouTube channel that will have like a _**million**_ subscribers, Butterstick," she had answered 'no' without needing to think. She tended to say no to most Black*Star related things.

"Black*Star, I have too much to worry about this year to add editing your stupid website to the list. Leave me alone."

"Okay, I know you're afraid of creeps on the internet asking for nudes but don't—OW I'm just sayi—OW OKAY HEAR ME OU—OW SHIT MAKA THIS IS WHY—OW OKAY OKAY _**I GET IT**_."

With the final exclamation of pain, Black*Star ran out of the coffee shop, promising to convince her some other way. Maka had no idea how serious he was.

On Day 1 after her refusal, Black*Star made her lunch, confident he could win his sister over with his culinary expertise. He even sent it to her room in a nice package, complete with an inspirational quote scribbled on a post-it.

"Why was there a package full of hash brown with 'Black*Star' written in ketchup on your bed?" Her roommate Tsubaki asked.

"I'm pretty sure that's my annoying brother's attempts at a bribe." She answered as she threw the 'gift' in the garbage.

"What's the note say?"

"It's an attempt at advice, I think. 'I'm amazing, but you're pretty okay. You should help me out.'"

"Does he know that hash browns taste terrible when cold?"

"Doubtful, he's more adept at eating food than making it."

Day 4 started with bargaining and ended with a book to Black*Star's head.

"HEY PLEB! How would you like to get in on a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be internet famous?"

Maka was surprised he came in, 'Star usually stayed away from library after something she referred to as "The Chestnut Incident." The fact that he got over his aversion of books (and scary librarians) spoke volumes on just how much he wanted her help on this. Still, Maka had been in the back of enough squad cars (most of time her dad's) to know not to get involved with Black*Star's pranks.

"Pass." Maka answered, not looking up from the book she was reading. "Keep your voice down, people are studying."

"You see, that's your problem, Maks, you spend all your time in these nerd holes, that you never have any time to enjoy the finer things in life." Black*Star noted.

"You're literally asking me to spend my time in a dark room with a computer to edit your website, 'Star."

"Details, details" He waved off. "But if you help me, maybe you could finally find someone to get it on with when you're not too busy being a nerd. In fact Liz was telling me about this guy who—"

 _Whack._

On Day 9, Black*Star resorting to kidnapping.

"BLAKE!" Maka yelled, banging on the door to his dorm. "You better haul ass out here with Acorn unharmed or I _swear_ the only god you'll be is ANUBIS."

She had returned to her dorm to find that her beloved stuffed ant, Acorn, was missing. It it's place was a blue post-it note that read "YOU'D BE NUTZ NOT TO HELP ME OUT." With every intention of murdering her brother, she ran to his dorm and proceeded to try to beat it down.

In the end, it was 'Star's confused roommate (who, Maka noticed, was shirtless) who opened the door. She ignored him and went straight for her brother's room.

"Hey! Maka! Just the person I wanted to see, I take it you got my note?"

Maka held the ransom note in her hand, which was basically a blue post-it note that said

"Blake." She threatened, eyes menacing. "Drop. The. Ant."

"Now, listen, I know you're mad about the stuffed animal kidnap but just hear me—"

 _ **WHACK!**_

At the rate this is going, Maka thought, she was going to need a new book.

On Day 13, Black*Star tried blackmail, holding a picture of Maka dressed as a light bulb for Halloween as he stood in the doorway.

"Unless you want everyone to know about the time you super-glued your dick to your hand by accident, I suggest you put that back in the album." Maka told him, not even bothering to turn around.

Black*Star let out a curse and went stomping back to his room. He obviously wasn't counting on Maka having her own ammo against him, which was dumb considering that for every stupidly embarrassing thing Maka did, Black*Star had ten. Obviously, Black*Star would give up now, Maka thought.

As usual, she was wrong when it came to predicting Black*Star.

"Maaaaakaaaaaaa pleeeeeaaase."

"No."

"Puuuhhhhhhllllllllllleeeeeeeeeasssssse?"

"No,"

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE."

" _ **Blake Sheldon Albarn.**_ "

"PLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSE?"

"FINE!" Maka roared, ignoring everyone who was openly staring at them now. It was Day 22 and Maka had had enough. "I have an insanely busy schedule for the next two months, 'Star. If you can get 100,000 followers by then, I'll be your graphic designer."

"YES! I KNEW YOU'D COME AROUND TINY TI—"

"Finish that sentence and I'm bumping it up to a quarter million."

"Okay, bye, Maka! See you for dinner!"

Maka groaned and stared at the book on her lap, attempting to pick up where she left up. There's no way he'd ever get close to the minimum, she told herself. With her brother obviously taken care of at the moment, Maka went back to memorizing the order of the cranial nerves.

* * *

October

Maka was panicking.

"There's no way he can reach that number of subscribers, right Tsubaki?" She asked her seated roommate as she paced back and forth in their dorm.

It had been a month since she placed the bet, and she had been refusing to think about the texts her brother had sent, each with an update on the number of subscribers. As irrational as it was, Maka was worried at the possibility of Black*Star winning the bet. Tsubaki was doing her best to calm her down.

"I'm sure it's fine, Maka. Black*Star doesn't have enough patience to maintain a YouTube channel, anyways." She reminded her.

"You're right, you're right." Maka conceded. "It's probably just a phase; people will get bored of him by next week."

"How many followers does he have, anyways?"

Before she could respond, Maka felt her phone go off. She groaned when she saw the latest text. This one saying, "WE JUST HIT 50K."

"As of ten seconds of go," Maka read, "50,024."

"What is he even posting?"

"I don't know, I haven't had time to actually look at his videos."

This, of course, prompted them to search up Black*Star's channel, titled, THE SPARTOI STAR SQUAD. As it turned out, he was posting videos of his pranks, game-plays, and fighting matches with someone called "The Blonde Terror" at the boxing ring downtown. There was also a section labeled "GODLY STUNTS" which, to no one's surprise, was full of his parkour stunts. The latest video, which showed 'Star climbing up the Math building, had gotten half a million views in day.

Most videos credited someone called SharkStoner for editing, although he never showed up in any of the videos. Although she didn't know who SharkStoner or Kid (executive producer) were, Maka could recognized Kilik as the voice behind the camera. Of course 'Star had gotten his gaming buddy to help him out. Other than herself, Maka doubted there were many other people that could keep up with her rambunctious brother.

"It's fine, it's fine" She told herself. "He has another 50k to go and he has like a month left, there's no way he can pull it off."

"Right?" She asked, looking at Tsubaki, who merely shrugged.


	2. Chapter 2

**November**

On the first of the month, Maka was sure she was in the clear. There had been no other texts from Black*Star and Spartoi's videos were less frequent. Although it was unlikely, it seemed as if Black*Star had given up.

As she woke, Maka felt content in knowing her free time had been saved. Sure, she didn't know how many followers he had, but, really, if he wasn't spamming her with texts on his victory, it was probably too late. Feeling especially chipper, Maka rose to make breakfast. Although her small kitchenette lacked a stove, she had purchased a waffle maker before arriving at school. Feeling especially celebratory, she made herself two servings of waffles, moving to make herself a third when her roommate stumbled into the kitchen.

"Good Morning, Kim." She practically sang.

Kim, whose pink hair was in disarray from her night time activities, merely grunted.

"What time did you get in last night?" She asked.

While the building did have a curfew, and the RA was known as a straight laced girl, this didn't apply to Kim. Especially since said RA was currently in Kim's bed sleeping off a hangover.

"Late?" She said uncertainly.

"Anyways, why are you so chipper? Would've thought you'd be crying into the pillow since you lost the bet." Kim asked as she made herself coffee.

Maka froze, the batter she was pouring spilling onto the kitchen top.

"W-What was that?" She asked, certain that she was simply mishearing.

"Wasn't the bet 100k or something? His last video just got 2 million views last night, it got him like another 7k, which was all he had left. That and he's been getting more popular with all the video game plays and wrestling with that one girl."

"Oh no." Maka said, dread filling her.

"No, no, no, no no." She continued to chant as she ran to her laptop.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooo." Maka moaned at she looked at her brother's latest escapade and subscriber count.

"Can I have your waffles?" Kim yelled as Maka continued to curse out any and all Gods.

Kim took that as a yes, and grabbed the waffles on her way back to her room to share. Who said romance was dead anyways?

* * *

Black*Star's latest viral sensation was, in a word, hilarious. Maka tried as hard as she could to not laugh. _This was her free time going down the drain dammit!_ But try as she might, there was no containing her giggles as she watched the video for the umpteenth time. In defiance of logic, the video featured Professor Stein, the school's anatomy professor and acquaintance of their father. His ashen face was covered in painted stitches and he sported his signature creepy smile for the occasion. While he looked only slightly off putting to her, she could see how he might be confused as something more sinister in the dark.

The video focused on Stein standing behind a door while a student, who Maka recognized as Harvar from her history class, walked into the room to his computer. Presumably, he would freak out by Stein's appearance, maybe give a jump. Instead, Harvar seemed undisturbed by the strange man with the scalpel, standing by his door. When the camera panned around though, it showed someone, presumably Black*Star, standing in an octopus outfit. Unexpectedly, Harvar screamed and launched himself out the window in terror, landing in the grass and taking off running. The cackling that resulted confirmed that it was her brother in the suit.

Maka felt bad for Harvar, but it _was_ kinda funny, and the video showed them tracking down him and even he had a laugh about it (though he did punch 'Star in the face to be fair). Once her laughter died down, however, she realized that now she would have to say goodbye to peaceful nights studying.

"Why, why, why?" Maka groaned, banging her head on the desk.

* * *

It took the collective efforts (and threats) of Tsubaki, Kim, and Jackie (the RA who had yet to leave) to get Maka to leave her bed. Moping Maka was funny for the first hour, but the incessant headbanging had gotten on their nerves.

"Maka, sweetie." Tsubaki said as soothingly as she could, "Black*Star sent you a text ten minutes ago, he says he wants to talk to terms."

 _This_ caught her attention. Negotiating was her one way to make this situation somewhat tolerable. She had had enough bets with her brother over the years to know how to get away with the least amount of damages as possible.

"Tell him to meet me at Yama's in half an hour and to bring the ledger." Maka said rising to get ready.

Tsubaki nodded and rose to get ready herself, knowing that Maka was going to need all the moral support she could get.

Twenty-five minutes later, Maka found herself taking her usual seat at Yama's, the local smoothie bar, to meet her doom. If she was going to die, she at least wanted a decent smoothie before she bit the dust. While this was not the first bet she had lost, it was the first since starting college. They weren't kids anymore, and Maka was currently too stressed to think about humoring her brother and all his antics for the rest of the year.

To no one's surprise, Black*Star was late. As he pulled on a push door, Maka noticed that he wasn't alone, recognizing the boy who stood behind him from the time that she busted had into 'Star's dorm (this time with a shirt on). Of course, it was hard to forget someone with white hair that spiked in all directions, especially when accompanied by teeth that looked too sharp to be real. She hardly blinked at his appearance, her brother had desynthesized her to all weird appearances long ago. Even his eyes, which almost looked red in the day, were nearly commonplace for her.

No, his appearance didn't surprise or unsettle her; Maka was more surprised by his headband. Who even wore headbands in public anymore? Apparently red-eyed sharkboys with slouching problems. She tried very hard not to think about the their last encounter and her absurd to draw his hair. _She was here to meet her doom, dammit._

After nearly breaking down the door, (and after an employee walked over to let Black*Star in) the pair made their way to Maka's table.

"Butterstick!" Black*Star crowed as a greeting.

"Black*Star." Maka gritted, trying not to hit him before she had a chance negotiate. "You remember Tsubaki, my roommate."

"You're the one who punched Hiro at that party last year, right?. Haven't seen you since, how's it been. You come to bask in my glory?"

Suddenly, hitting her brother with her book seemed like a very good idea.

Luckily, Tsubaki didn't seem disgusted by his antics and simply responded with a "It's nice to see you again, Black*Star."

"This here's my bro Soul, he's partly responsible for my victory. He edits my videos and handles all the music and sound effects." Black*Star said gesturing to sharkboy.

Soul, who seemed slightly uncomfortable, nodded at the introduction.

"I take it this is SharkStoner," Maka said, trying not to stare distastefully at him.

It wasn't his fault that his editing skills were good enough to make Black*Star's videos worthwhile, she tried telling herself. Okay, maybe it was his fault, but he hadn't done it to upset _her_. He was probably just doing this for fun and couldn't possibly know that he had ruined any chance at peace she had.

"I knew you watched my videos!" Black*Star proclaimed just as Soul exclaimed, utterly shocked, "You actually look at the credits?"

"Let's talk ground rules." She continued, ignoring their surprise. "First off, my classes come first. If you think I'm going to spend the night before my finals updating your website then you've got another thing coming."

"Sounds fair." he agreed, " _But_ you have to hang out with me and Spartoi twice a week."

"Twice a week?!" Maka cried, thinking about her study schedule. "Doing what?!"

"I dunno." he shrugged "Acting as a DD, battling me in Dance Dance Revolution, taking over for Kilik when he's watching the twins, whatever comes up basically."

"Okay, deal." Maka grumbled, knowing better than to fight him on this. "But you have to give me at least a 48 hour notice before you decide when we're hanging out, and if I have something important going on then I get to bail."

"8 hours." He countered. "You can come late on days you have something _and_ I'll let you leave early on weekdays. But if you ditch without telling anyone, the number goes up to three times a week."

Maka pondered this for a moment before saying, "24 hours. That's my limit."

"Deal." Black*Star agreed.

The rest of the hour went on like that with Soul and Tsubaki mediating when things nearly got violent. Black*Star had miraculously remembered to bring the ledger, which contained all the conditions of bets they had over the last ten years. Through her negotiations, she was able to leave most of schedule clear for important extracurriculars, which was a huge weight off her shoulders. Black*Star also had no qualms about letting Tsubaki join on Spartoi's activities, claiming he was always welcoming new followers. In truth, Maka was sure she would need Tsu's level headedness more than once before her servitude was done while Tsubaki had claimed an interest in how exactly her brother ran his youtube channel.

"Okay last thing; how long is this for?" Maka demanded, certain this would be the most difficult to work out.

"Until I get my own TV show."

"Be serious 'Star."

"Serious is my middle name."

"Are you sure about that Shel—"

"Okay, okay! How about this, you would stay on as head web designer until I hit 750k subscribers."

"Seven hundred fifty?! Are you out of your mind?! There's no way that'll happen."

"I dunno Maks, that's what you said about 100k. Tell you what, I'm a merciful God, so I'll let you choose; 750k or until we graduate, which might be closer since you're the genius of the family and all."

Maka gritted her teeth in frustration. She knew this was as good as she was going to get and while she hated to admit it, Black*Star did have a rather large fan base. Similar to being unable to look away from a car crash, people were interested in what Black*Star was posting.

"Alright." Maka agreed. "I'll take the 750."

Black*Star let out a whoop and ordered a celebratory round of smoothies while Maka contemplated completing her degree in Russia.


	3. Chapter 3

**Late December**

Working with her brother was not as time consuming as Maka thought it would be. She had to see him more, sure, but he generally respected her responsibilities. It also helped that most of her classes were across campus from the tracks, fields, and gyms, where Black*Star spent nearly all of his there were still major drawbacks, like having to give up two nights a week to see her brother get nearly arrested, it did help her relax from the pressure of classes. Somewhat.

Being part of Spartoi also meant that she had to spend her time making Black*Star a website that didn't look like it created in the 90s. It took her longer than expected, mostly because Black*Star had crazy aesthetic demands that clashed with Maka's need for practicality. Still, after being hit on the head a couple of times, Black*Star saw reason and agreed to let Maka handle all website business.

Perhaps the least stressful part of her new "hobby" though, was the people. Once Maka found out that the "Blonde Terror" was actually the sister of Maka's friend from Philosophy class, things got exponentially better. It turned out that Patti Thompson had been accepted on an athletic scholarship, having been somewhat of a legend back east. When her sister realized this, she transferred with her, getting a job to help with a expenses. Liz was also studying to become a lawyer, which was something that came in handy more than once when Black*Star's pranks got out of hand.

Meeting Patti herself was also a pleasant surprise. While she had the pent up energy of a six-year-old, she was funny and carefree and able to keep Black*Star occupied when Maka needed peace. This was mostly do to her experience as a seasoned wrestler, making her the perfect sparring partner for Black*Star.

They had originally met through an online forum about Halo and decided to meet up. When it became apparent that Patti had some serious experience in the ring, Black*Star challenged her, and was prompted beaten. Ever since then, he started taking lessons from her. In exhange, Black*Star offered lessons in different form of martial arts. Workout buddies to the end, Patti was thrilled with the prospect of being filmed while she fought, saying it offered her great publicity.

Together with Kilik (another online friend), and Kid (a friend of Patti's from high school ) they formed Spartoi, a group focused on impressing the world with a mixture of pranks, fighting, and gameplays. Soul, Black*Star's introverted roommate, would come later, once they realized that none of them knew how to make quality videos. It was Soul who actually gave Black*Star the idea of recruiting Maka, commenting offhandedly that they should have a website if 'Star was serious about the channel. While Maka had come to enjoy her time with them, it was still hard to not resent Soul for having giving Black*Star the idea.

Speaking of Soul, he was currently the only member of Spartoi giving her trouble. During their first hangout with them, it had been nothing less than awkward, the two of them having seemingly nothing in common. She was a Graphic Design/English double major and he had only responded with a gruff "Undeclared" before going back to editing the latest video. Maka found that when he wasn't playing Assassin's Creed, he was working at a local mechanics . Maka had tried to make conversation with him, asking what he only given one word answers. It was the beginning of her limited interactions with Soul Evans.

In the first of weeks meeting him, Maka had decided that he was just a lazy slacker whose only interest was in his motorcycle (which did not make him hotter, nope) and beating her brother in eating contests. While his hair continued to fascinate her, and while she had an extreme desire to try to draw it, she was determined to speak to him as little as possible.

It wasn't until she walked in on him strumming his guitar that things changed. The look on his face could only be described as fear, as if she had just discovered a horrible secret. He stubbornly refused to play anything more, claiming that it wasn't even his guitar, that he was holding it for a friend. Maka, who could recognize fear of being ridiculed a mile away, understood and let him be.

"For what it's worth," she had said, "I really liked what you were playing."

She had left the room before she could see his shock.

After that, Soul started coming to her for feedback on whatever he was working on. He showed her newly edited videos, games he was playing, homework he didn't understand , and anything else that he thought she'd enjoy talking about. In return, Maka showed him whatever crazy thing Black*Star had asked her to draw, knowing that he would offer her actual criticism and not generic compliments to make her feel better.

Eventually, it got to the point where they started hanging out for the fun of it. At first, they talked about trivial things, how she was annoyed by Black*Star's efforts to set her up or how he dreaded having a morning class. Somehow along the way, though, she found herself telling him things only her brother knew. Maka talked about how she found it hard to talk to her mother, even though she practically worshipped her, because she hadn't been there for all the important moments in Maka's life. Soul talked about living in his brother's shadow and how he had moved to California to escape his parent's presence.

When Maka felt as if all her studies would suffocate her, Soul was there with tea and a new video game to play. When Soul was stuck staring at an envelope after receiving a letter from his brother, Maka dragged him to Yama's for a smoothie, claiming he would grow mushrooms on his head if he didn't get out more. Somehow between hanging out with the others, griping about classes, and talking late into the night, he became her best friend.

During the winter holidays, it was just the two of them. As a general rule, Maka went back home for Thanksgiving and stayed on campus for Christmas with her brother. It was better this way, since Maka could only stand being in the same state as her father for a couple of days a year. Usually her and 'Star would get each other two gifts, one ridiculous and one heartfelt. Last year, Maka had gotten a book titled "How to Get Laid" and an autographed copy of her favorite book. Gift giving was usually followed by an feast of Chinese takeout and a horror movie. It wasn't conventional in any sense of the word but Maka had grown to love Christmas with her brother.

This year, however, Black*Star had announced that he was going to go skiing with Kilik and Patti. The three had been nearly inseparable since the forming of Spartoi, always looking for new opportunities to oneup each other at sports. They had decided that winter break would be the perfect chance to try their hands at snow sports.

"This is crazy, you've never even _been_ to the snow. How are you supposed to go gliding down a mountain, a thousand feet above sea level?" Maka told him over drinks.

"A thousand feet? Don't kid yourself, sis. We're looking at maybe three thousand _minimum._ " Black*Star cackled.

"Blake, you can't be serious."

"By the way, what's with this lame bar? There's not even a band playing. Why don't we go to Mort's or something?"

"I like it here, it's quiet and not full drunk idiots. But about the skiing—"

"There's only an 87% chance of me dying."

"Blake."

"Maka you gotta admit—"

"It's dangerous! Also, what are you wearing?"

"-that it'd be awesome!"

"Godammit."

"Also, don't hate on the pastels." He said, motioning to his shirt.

"Blake, no—"

"It's BLACK*STAR."

"Be reasonable, dumbass."

"Hell no, pleb."

"Colorado isn't Death City or California, you can't go around wearing pastel tank tops in sub zero temperature." Maka warned him.

"Looky here, Maks. I know that your Christmas will be bleak and miserable without your favorite older brother to brighten up your life, but you've got Soul. I know my broseph seems boring, but just give him some tequila sunrises and he'll start saying some really funny shit."

While in truth Maka had originally felt betrayed, she quickly realized what it meant. With her finals over and Black*Star out of the way, she would actually have time _to herself_. That and, as her brother had just said, she would have time with Soul, _alone_. No Liz to wink suggestively at her, no Patti to giggle madly as they sat next to each other during video games, and NO Black*Star to scream obnoxiously in her ear over her inability to get laid. Even Kid, who was working on his graduate school applications, would be absent.

"Just promise you won't cause an avalanche or something, Thanksgiving dinner is hard enough without having to explain to Papa why his son is a blue-haired popsicle."

"You worry too much, Butterstick. There's no way an avalanche can bring someone as awesome as me down."

"Ugh." Maka groaned, signalling for another drink.


	4. Chapter 4

**February**

Soul, who was ten minutes away from being done with his shift, was _not_ googling "how to know if a girl likes you." Nope, no way. He was a cool dude, and cool dudes understood what it meant when a girl spends her Christmas with them. Cool dudes understood what it meant when said girl spent Christmas watching horror movies. And cool dudes definitely didn't buy said girl a smoothie as a Christmas gift. Soul was a cool dude.

So when Sid Barrett, head mechanic, yelled, "Evans! What the hell are you doing?"

He did not exclaim in a panicky voice, "Research."

Sid Barrett was an intimidating man, whose police background was enough to make his garage one of the most efficient in the area. He was also Black*Star's godfather. Soul had no idea that he was until Black*Star came in and tried putting Sid in a chokehold after dropping off his car for maintenance. He could only watch in terror as his boss punched his best friend in the stomach and then proceeded to pin him to the ground.

"You've gotten slower, old man." Black*Star rasped.

"Show some respect for the workplace, Blake." Sid said as he released 'Star and helped him up.

"Yeah, yeah. How's Phoebe?"

It turns out that Sid had been on the force with Black*Star's adoptive dad and was usually the one who caught him whenever he tried ditching school. Sid had also been there during the aftermath of the shootout that killed most of Black*Star's family. When his wife, Mira Nygus, had gotten pregnant, they had moved out to California a few months after the delivery to be closer to her family.

During the little catching up, Black*Star noticed Soul in the corner, slightly paler than usual.

"Broski!" He crowed, "I didn't know you worked here. How's the old man been treating you?"

"You're friends with Blake?" Sid asked, addressing him for the first time.

"Uh, yes?" Soul answered uncertainly. "I mean we're roommates and we hang out a lot so, yeah."

"Hmmm. Not that many people can handle a pest like Blake, maybe I underestimated you."

"Who you calling pest, Grandpa? I could pummel you right now. And the name's BLACK*STAR!"

With that exclamation, Black*Star launched himself at Sid again and the two went at it. It wasn't until Nygus, who came to drop off Sid's lunch, punched both of them, grabbed them by the ear, and made them apologize to Soul for disturbing his work.

Afterwards, Black*Star made plans to stop by for dinner, promising to bring Maka too, and Sid had taken a special interest in Soul. Which lead to Soul's current predicament.

"What kind of research?" Sid asked, trying to look at the tab Soul had opened.

"The school kind?"

"I see, and this research wouldn't be anything that would give my computer any viruses right?"

Soul visibly blanched and internally barfed.

"What?! No! I'm not Black*Star and besides Maka would—"

"Maka? Who said anything about Maka?"

"No one, no one said anything about Maka. I was just saying how she would—"

"Kill you if she caught you thinking about someone else?"

"First of all, Black*Star would kill me if I was thinking about _her_. Second of all, that's putting words in my mouth. Third of all, no. Maka and I are just friends."

"I'm not the type of man who would let his employee embarrass himself, so let me give you some advice," Sid said, leaning on the desk.

"Wow, thanks," Soul said sarcastically. "And I don't need advice. I told you, we're only friends."

"Yeah, and Black*Star is a mellow kind of guy. Don't think I haven't noticed the way you two stare at each other when she comes to visit. Now shut up and pay attention. First of all, you're never gonna have a chance to tell her how you feel if you don't hang out."

"We hang out!" Soul protested.

"No, you go watch Black*Star pull pranks or play video games. Or, if you're feeling feisty, you'll stay in your dorm all day with her watching Netflix while she does her homework."

"Okay, who squealed, was it Black*Star? I knew he couldn't be trusted. And it's not like it's either of your businesses."

"Watch your tone. The point is, she likes you and you like her. For Death's sake, Evans, just invite her out for smoothies, or something."

"It's-It's not like that." Soul said defeated. "She's not in anyone. She's still really sore about what happened with her parents."

"Maybe." He agreed. "But Maka's a smart girl, and she has to accept that she's not either of her parents at one point. The fact that you know what happened with her parents alone shows how much she trusts you."

"Trust doesn't mean interested." He argued.

"Well you're never gonna know if she's interested if you keep avoiding talking about it. Now get out of here; your shift ended ten minutes ago."

With that, Soul was kicked out of the garage, and sullenly made his way towards his bike. He got a text from Maka, asking him to pick up Thai before coming over to play video games with Spartoi.

Sid didn't know what he was talking about, he told himself as he revved up his bike. They were just friends.

* * *

It was the Wednesday before the three day weekend, and Soul was trying (and failing) to find a way to hang out with Maka that wasn't video games, pranks, or Black*Star related. Traditionally, Soul spent all free days (holiday or not) in his room with his Xbox, but Sid's words were bouncing in his head.

"So, any plans for the weekend?" Soul asked, feigning nonchalance.

They were alone in his dorm again, the rest of Spartoi off shooting a video. Normally they would join the others, but Soul, having just finished a shift, had had enough social interaction for the day and Maka was busy with homework. They were lounging on the couch, Maka with her laptop and Soul with his Xbox. As Soul continued to blast off the heads of zombies, Maka was determinedly _not_ looking at how his shirt had ridden up enough for her to see his stomach.

"Nothing, I think." Maka answered, still staring at her screen.

"Wait, what do you mean nothing? Doesn't Black*Star usually love huge celebrations for holidays, especially long weekends? I thought he would have plans to drag you to some bar again."

"Oh, you mean Valentine's?" she asked, finally understanding his confusion. "Usually he would be going all out, trying to get as much chocolate as possible, but this year it falls on the second saturday of February."

"So?" he asked, pausing his game.

"So," Maka said pointedly. "it's Death Day."

"Death Day? Wait is this one of those weird Death Child things?"

Soul knew that Black*Star and Maka had come from an obscure city in Nevada called Death City, and that their town traditions were more than a little eccentric.

"Yup. A long time ago rogues tried to take over Death City, then known as Smithville. Bandits and criminals were killing people in the streets and destroying everything they could. It was still a small town then, with only a couple hundred people, and heavily isolated. At the head of the insurgents was Asura, the exiled brother of the first elected mayor. According to the legend, he rose up and was able to defeat his brother by becoming a death god. After that, every mayor was given the title Lord Death and we celebrate every second Saturday of February."

"So they named the city after a death god? Sounds like a cult." He was getting better at accepting Death Children and their macabre town history.

"Actually, we did have a cult there for a while, and they were called the Death Children, but eventually the town commercialized all death related things and it died out."

"So you're part of a cult?" Soul grinned.

Maka responded by pushing him off the couch.

"Okay, okay I get it, but why would this prevent Black*Star from celebrating? If anything wouldn't it make him party harder?" He said, turning his attention back to the game.

"Mmm, the day is a pretty big deal for most Death Children, it's the day we remember our roots. Black*Star gets kinda weird because of it. He usually spends the day training."

Soul hmphed thoughtfully. Most people in Spartoi knew about Black*Star's biological family, how they had been part of a vicious gang that lived in Death City. Most of his family had died during a shootout with a rival gang and the all survivors were imprisoned. Black*Star, who was ten months and barely learning to walk, was left without a soul to care for him, The police officer on duty, Spirit Albarn, had a wife eight months pregnant but couldn't bear the thought of leaving the child alone, The adoption papers were somewhat difficult to take care of but soon enough Blake Aster became Blake Sheldon Albarn (and eventually Black*Star).

He knew that family and roots was a sore subject for Maka, so he let it drop. If anyone understood a want for privacy, it was him. He thought about Black*Star, how his exuberance had been forced lately.

"What about you?" Maka asked, not looking him in the eyes. "Have any plans?"

"Not really, crowds aren't my thing and I'm allergic to bad decision making."

 _Tell that to your wardrobe,_ Maka thought.

"You know, I'm probably not going to get a chance to do my homework for my class until this weekend, do you think I could hang out here?" Maka asked.

"I, um, sure? I mean, what about your dorm?" Soul asked, surprised that his plans to hang out with her actually succeeded.

"They're checking all the gas pipes on our floor this weekend, so it's off limits during the day."

"Oh, yeah I forgot about that. Should we order pizza or something?"

"That's okay, I'm probably going to be here for an hour tops." She told him, resolute in her plans to not spend Valentine's Day with him.

* * *

She was only here because it felt strange to be in a mostly empty library, Maka told herself on Saturday. It was Valentine's Day and everyone else had plans. Jackie had gone with Kim to Montana to be introduced to her sister, Liz was out with a coworker, and Tsubaki had gone home for the weekend. Soul didn't mind; he preferred solitude, but he had gotten used to having Maka around. Still, it felt a little strange being with Maka on Valentine's Day, even more so on a Death Day which was was supposed to be spent with family.

"Hey, what do you want for lunch?" Soul asked, looking through his empty cabinets.

"Lunch? What time is it anyways?" Maka asked, looking up from her book.

"6 o'clock." He answered. "Shit. It's dinner then."

"Oh, Death. Did we just sit here and do nothing for the last eight hours?" So much for only an hour.

"Looks like." He answered, digging through the drawer where they kept their take out menus.

"You're rubbing off on me. Soon I'll be wearing paisley headbands and obscure hipster-branded jeans," She complained.

"First of all, they're _amoebas._ Second of all, shut up and tell me what kind of take out you want." He protested, trying his best to not picture her in his clothes.

"We had take out yesterday though."

"Your point?"

"My point is we need to go out, breath fresh air."

"That's a good point. Counter-point: we stay here and watch shitty anime on Netflix."

Half an hour later, Soul found himself tipping the pizza delivery boy while Maka picked what to watch next.

"You're a horrible influence." Maka said as she took a bite out of her pizza.

"Or an amazing one. I just saved you from having to fight through the last minute shopper traffic."

"Shut up, and eat, Eater."

"Ugh, not you too!" Soul complained.

It had been a couple of weeks ago when Soul had, for the umpteenth time challenged Black*Star to an eating contest. This time they had been eating chicken wings and both were drunk. So drunk that Soul had proclaimed, "I'll eat anything. I'll eat these wings, I'll eat that pizza, I'll eat your frickin' soul. Call me Soul Eater," and promptly fell over in a fit of laughing.

Patti, who of course had everything on tape, had posted the video on Black*Star's channel and it had been rising in views ever since. Fans of the channel had started called him Soul Eater, some being so bold as to say that they wondered what else he would be willing to eat.

"It's not my fault that you dug your own grave buddy. Although, I am surprised SharkStoner turned out to be such a lightweight."

"Oh and I suppose you could do much better." Soul drawled.

"Of course I can. Black*Star's my _brother_ You don't think I've been challenged to drinking contest with him before?"

"Please, I've seen Black*Star drink. There's no way someone your size could top that."

"Okay, that's it." She said standing up.

She made her way to the kitchen where she took out two glasses and a green bottle.

"Is that?"

"Yup, Death Juice. Black*Star keeps a bottle in his emergency, 'get rekted' stash."

"Maka." Soul warned, looking at her seriously. "That thing has enough alcohol content to be illegal anywhere but Nevada."

"I know, and it smells horrible, but it does have a nice aftertaste."

"How did 'Star even _get_ a bottle. The last time he had one, he spent three days in lockup after waking up in a tree naked."

"Dunno, but it is pretty heavy stuff. It should do the trick."

Maka sat down and explained the rules. It was truth or dare, only for every dare, they would drink some Death Juice and for every truth they would drink some water (to keep the chances of liver poisoning to a minimal). They went four more rounds before they were both a giggling mess.

"Okay, okay, dare." Maka laughed reaching for more Death Juice.

"Nuh, uh. You've done nothing but dares. Drink some water."

"Okay, Eater, have it your way. What do you want to know?"

Soul stared at her for a moment, her cheeks were flushed and lips rosy, making it hard for him to focus.

"I got one. Why does 'Star call you Butterstick."

"Nahhhh you don't want to know about that. You would much rather hear about the time 'Star almost got his nuts eaten by a squirrel."

"His peanuts?"

"Nope." Maka giggled.

"Okay, _that_ sounds very interesting and you are definitely telling me about that next but no skipping questions."

"Ugh, fine. I was like six or seven and Black*Star had just muddied my favorite book and wasn't apologizing. I was really mad, Mama had come to visit for once and I wanted to show her how good I got at reading. I decided, because I was six, to run away so that people would blame Blake and take him away and I would get Mama all to myself."

Maka's voice got softer as she went on with her story, forgetting why she was telling it in the first place.

"I knew I couldn't run away for real because I didn't know how to ride the bus, and Mama had told me to not talk to strangers so I decided to hide out in the cupboards in the basement. I was a lot bigger than I realized and I got stuck in them. I started to cry and Black*Star was the one to find me." She smiled at the memory.

"Black*Star saw how scared I was, so he promised to get me out and went to get some butter. Later, when Mama came home, he told her that we got into a food fight and even splashed his favorite shirt with tomato juice so she would believe it. It was the first time I ever saw him do something selfless."

They sat in silence for a moment before Maka let out a snort.

"He's called me Butterstick ever since, but he's never told anyone why."

"Well at least he didn't call you Butterbutt." Soul said.

Maka laughed and the game continued, sometimes going into darker territory (Do you hate your mother? Sometimes. Do you miss your brother? Yes.) and other times being more lighthearted (What is the most embarrassing moment you've ever had? I sneezed while giving my ex a blowjob. Have you ever gone skinny dipping? Once, when Black*Star dared me.) Until they were nearly done with the bottle.

"Alright, Eater. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Maka was quiet for a moment, building up her courage.

"Would you kiss the prettiest girl in the room?" She asked, cheeks blushing.

"Yes." He answered, meeting her eyes as best he could. It was hard to lie, his head was fuzzy and she just looked so damn _beautiful_ with her lips like that.

"Truth or dare?" He asked.

"Truth."

"Would you call yourself the prettiest girl in the room?"

"Maybe, if I got a kiss." She smiled.

Her voice did _not_ just get ten times breathier nope, Soul was just imagining it.

"Truth or dare?" Maka asked.

"Dare." He said, drinking the rest of Death Juice.

"I dare you to kiss the prettiest girl in the room."

"I wonder where she is." He joked, moving close enough that he could smell her breath.

"Right here." She said, closing the distance between their lips.

Kissing Soul was nothing like she imagined. For one thing, there was no angels singing or electric feeling running down her spine. What there was was an awkward clanking of teeth and an after taste of alcohol. Maka laughed lightly as Soul tried to introduce his tongue before realizing that that required a certain level of finesse reserved for sober people. Still, she thought, his lips felt nice against hers, even if they were chapped.

As they broke apart, slightly breathless, they both realized how much this changed things.

They fell asleep, figuring they would deal with it in the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

**March**

"So what's going on with you and Soul?" Liz asked.

She was painting her nails in the kitchen while Maka drew another logo for her brother. He had asked for one a while ago but up until then, all the other designs she had shown him had either been too simple or too gaudy. This was her last attempt and if Black*Star didn't like it, she was going to design him a tombstone instead. The others were in the living room, playing a recently released game that had been suggested by their viewers. While she had been tempted to join, she really needed 'Star's approval on this so that she could finish her actual homework.

"Nothing's going on between us." Maka answered cooly, focusing on the task at hand.

"I see, so how come things have been weird ever since Valentine's Day?"

Maka willed herself not to blush. The truth was, things _had_ been weird. When they had woken up the morning after their drunken kiss, neither of them initially remembered what had transpired. It wasn't the first time she had slept over, or even the first time they had fallen asleep next to each other on the couch. It wasn't until she noticed her swollen lips that it all came back to her.

While Soul got dressed to go out for breakfast, she had a mini-crisis in his bathroom. This changed everything. What was she supposed to do? What did she _want_ to do? What did Soul want to do? Had Soul really meant to kiss her or was that the Death Juice talking? Did he even remember?

The questions danced around Maka's head until Soul knocked on the door saying she was taking too long. She did what any logical adult would do, she pretended to forget all about the kiss until she could sort out exactly what she was feeling.

"Nothing's weird." Maka insisted, trying her damndest to focus on the drawing and not Liz's smug voice.

On his end, Soul picked up on Maka's panic during breakfast, noticing how she stared at his lips, and had loudly complained about his headache, announcing that he didn't remember what had happened the night before. He knew that Maka didn't want a relationship right now, but his heart still broke at her look of immense relief. Still, she had feelings for him, that much he could reassure himself. Drunk or not, Maka wouldn't have asked for a kiss if she didn't want one. He would wait for her until she sorted out what she wanted.

With that promise in mind, the two had continued hanging out as if nothing had happened. Or, at least, they tried to. Neither of them could deny that things had changed. Soul started hanging out in her dorm, claiming that her brother was being annoying again and Maka started collecting Jazz CDs that he lent her. They both started texting each other constantly, especially when classes conflicted with their schedules. Maka had even started playing video games with him late into the night, complaining about Black*Star, classes, and roommates who liked to use the couch as a makeout spot over the mic as she blasted through zombie hordes. Their newfound intimacy excited Maka as much as it confused her.

"Maka, you are an amazing artist, a decent cook, and a great writer." Liz laughed, "But you can't lie for shit."

Maka groaned, putting away her supplies; she needed to get to the grocery store before it closed anyways.

"I have to go, I'll catch up with you later." She answered instead, going to the living room to say goodbye to everyone else.

"Mmhhm." Liz teased, smiling knowingly.

"Are you heading towards town?" Soul asked. "I'm heading that way anyways. Why don't I drop you off?"

"Sure, I'm not going to be that long."

"Cool, I'll get my jacket."

"BUY ME CHIPS PLEB!" Black*Star yelled, not looking away from the screen.

This of course led to all the other placing orders with that they needed from the store with the promise of reimbursements later. Patti wanted goldfish, Tsubaki mentioned she'd like some tea, Kid said he didn't need anything, and Kilik claimed he'd be okay with chips too.

It wasn't until after she came back and distributed all the snacks and drinks that Maka was allowed to return to her suite. As she reached for the last the bag of groceries to put away, she noticed a box of condoms with a sticky note attached to the cover.

' _Nothing weird,' my ass_ it read in Liz's messy scrawl.

* * *

There was no way that she could have predicted how much she would enjoy working on her brother's Youtube channel. While she had pulled pranks on her brother throughout her life, she never thought about pulling pranks _with_ her brother. The results were either amazing or catastrophic depending on who you asked.

While they had always been close, there was still a certain type of bond that came from filling Liz's hair dryer with baby powder.

"You know," Black*Star commented as he replayed the video of the powder exploding in Liz's face, "I always knew you would be a great part of Spartoi."

"Oh yeah?" Maka laughed. "How so?"

"Well, no one but my sister would get the idea to wrap Soul's room in tin foil while he was out."

"I always was the smart one."

As the days went on, her smarts would work for Spartoi in unforeseen ways. Maka not only accomplished the impossible task of running a website that was both functioning _and_ met Black*Star's taste, but she had also risen the number of subscribers they had. While she was still far from seven hundred fifty thousand, she was closer to that what people thought possible in such a short amount of time.

"What's next?" Maka asked, already knowing that her brother had a couple more pranks planned.

"You tell me, smart one."

"Kim." She decided.

"You," Black*Star repeated, uncertain he heard her right, "want to prank Kim?"

"I've always wondered if she would look as nice in blue hair as she does pink."

"I'm so glad you're on my team now." He laughed.

 _Me too,_ Maka thought, smiling to herself as they went to go call the others.


	6. Chapter 6

**April**

"That," Soul said, peering over her shoulder, "Does not look like a logo."

"Jesus FU—Soul! Don't sneak up on me like that.

He had walked up behind her while she was drawing in her sketchbook, and subsequently had scared the shit out of her.

"Ha, Whatever. Want to tell me why you're drawing me?"

"That's none of your business!" She cried, blushing as she held the book to her chest.

They were sitting on his couch, waiting for Black*Star and the others to join them for their weekly video game hangout. Soul was playing on his phone while Maka was 'working' on the new Spartoi logo. Under normal circumstance, she would be; she had promised 'Star this a while ago but had yet to deliver. But lately, she had been putting all of her effort in an application for a summer internship.

"Come on, Maka, it's not everyday I get to be a model. Let me see how I look." Soul complained.

"Nice try, but, no." She answered, still refusing to meet his eye.

"What if I got you a smoothie?"

"Nope."

"What about _two_ smoothies?"

"Master negotiator, aren't you?"

"Alright, Albarn, name your price." He offered.

Maka thought about it, wondered what the 'Soul Evans' equivalent was of a sketchbook. Art was personal, he knew that better than anyone.

"A song." She decided.

"What?"

"You heard me. Play me a song and you can see the finished product."

He was silent as he mulled over the deal. He wasn't a kid anymore and this was Maka, she probably wouldn't know the difference between a good song or a bad one. Still, the idea of playing for anyone, even her, was enough to bring back fears of his shortcomings.

Maka noticed his inner turmoil and was about to say nevermind when he answered.

"Alright, deal."

"Wait, really?" She asked.

"Yeah." Soul sighed, attempting to sound aloof.

"Just...just not now." He amended. "When I finish the song I'm working on."

Despite agreeing, Maka could see how uncomfortable it made him.

"You don't have to, you know. It's just a sketch." She told him.

"I want to." Soul reassured her, looking into her eyes resolutely

" Alright, Evans, you've got yourself a deal. No hold still while I finish this sketch."

As she turned to face him, Maka couldn't help but feel grateful for an excuse to draw him. Sure, she had been sneaking small sketches of him ever since they started working together, but this was a chance to observe every contour of his jaw and every angle of his hair.

"What are you drawing me for, anyways?" He asked, trying his best not to move.

Maka continued drawing, trying to capture his aloof expression. It was a moment before she responded.

"There's an internship over the summer. It's this place called the Newberry Institute and it's really famous for their art programs. Every great graphic designer, artist, and architect in the last decade came from there. I need to send in an art portfolio as part of the application process."

"Why draw me then? Wouldn't you want to show them something worth looking at?" He joked.

Maka paused in her drawing to smack his arm lightly.

"Don't say that, do you know how amazing you look?".

It wasn't until she noticed Soul's blush that she registered what she had said.

"I-I mean from an artist's point of view." She explained.

"Right, right, of course."

"So why do you want to do this summer internship anyways?" Soul asked as she continued, feeling strange to be stared at but not spoken to.

"Mama used to be an artist; she was the one who taught me how to draw. She was never famous but always drew beautiful things for people. I want to be able to give people something through my art, like Mama was able to. Getting into this internship would help improve my art and would be a chance to be _paid_ for doing something I love."

She paused before adding softly,"I don't think I've ever wanted to be a part of something this much."

Before Soul could respond they heard the tell-tale yell of her brother.

"'SUP PLEBS!" He yelled, ruffling her hair as he passed.

Patti and Killik entered behind him, bee-lining for the kitchen.

"Black*Star, _get off_." Maka demanded, swatting at his hands.

"Watcha working on Maks? Is that for that Blueberry application?"

"Oh no you don't! Keep your hands off my art, last time you touched this sketchbook, you got it covered in your stupid hair dye."

"Don't insult the hair!"

"You look like a blue monkey!"

"You're just jealous that you're not a star!"

"Is anyone going to eat this sandwich?" Kilik asked from the fridge. "Because I'm already eating it."

"Hey that was my sandwich!" Soul protested.

As Black*Star tried to put Maka in a chokehold and Soul battle Kilik in the name of his sandwich, Patti walked over to Maka's sketchbook where it laid on the coffee table. She saw the page it was opened on and giggled, promising herself to tell her sister all about it later.

* * *

May

Maka was staring at the letter for the millionth time that day, the words replaying in her mind.

Dear Ms. Albarn,

We regret to inform you that despite your various attributes and qualifications you have not been selected for the competitive Newberry Summer Internship. The decision was a hard one, given the number of applicants, all certainly qualified in their own way, and this in no way reflects on your worth as a artist. We at the Newberry Institute wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.

She didn't bother seeing who signed it. Numbly, she realized that she had wandered into the lounge and sat on one of the various couches. She let out a huge breath and covered her face with her hand, trying not to let bitterness take root. It was difficult, she found, and she felt her tears bloom before she could stop them. Angrily, she wiped her eyes lest anyone see and ask her if something was wrong.

I'm being childish, she thought. It didn't matter if she had worked hard for this, she couldn't expect to get what she wanted every time. Life didn't work like that. She always knew that she would be rejected for something at one point, but she just didn't expect her first rejection to be from something this important to her. Up until then, she had always been accepted into programs she wanted, and she felt stupid for assuming that it would be that way now. Maka told herself this over and over, creating a mantra for herself, but it did nothing to make her feel better.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to will away the red eyes she knew she was sporting. How much time had passed? She was supposed to be meeting Tsu at five and had lost track of time in her little pity-party. By the looks of the darkening sky, it was close to 6:30. She moved to get up, or at least go back to her room for her phone so that she could call Tsubaki.

Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted up into the air and heard the tell-tale yell of-

"SHORTSTACK! Where have you been? Tsu's been looking for you for the last ten...minutes." He finished lamely, noticing her runny nose.

"Blake, put me down." Maka sighed, using his 'mortal' name in a fit of annoyance.

She didn't feel like putting up with Black*Star's antics today, or for the rest of the week really. All she wanted to do now was go to her room, stare at a wall in an effort to not cry, and watch some crappy anime to keep her mind off things.

Black*Star, however, had other plans. He took only one look at her and then proceeded to forcibly sit her down, offering her what she assumed to be his 'serious face look.' It looked more as if he had stomach blockage. Maka, who had just spent the last hour (at least) trying not to cry, couldn't find it in her to comment on it.

"What's wrong? Who do I need to beat up? WHO HURT MY FAVORITE MINION? WAS IT SOUL? DID MY BRO TRY TO PUT HIS MOVES ON YOU?"

"For fuck's sake, keep your voice down." Maka finally snapped. "It's not about Soul, godammit. And there's nothing you can do! I just didn't get into my program and now I'm being a pissbaby about it okay? Now can we please get out of here so that I don't have campus police telling me that you're being disruptive, again."

Black*Star seemed to understand that Maka's anger was not aimed towards him because he didn't even blink at her outburst. Instead, he settled for yelling louder.

"YOU KNOW WHAT?" He started, "Fuck the Shitberry Institute, or whatever they were. They're idiots if they don't realize how awesome my sister is. Come on, nerd. Let's go fuck shit up."

At this, he picked her off the couch and started pulling her towards the exit. Maka, who was pretty tired of him forcing her to move at this point, punched him hard until he let her go.

"Black*Star if you think for one second that I'm going to a frat party—"

"Relax, pigtails. If I wanted to fight with obnoxious dudebros with you, I'd at least head north where they have nice beer. No, no, my virgin minion, we're going to Mort's." He said grinning.

Maka visibly paled at the sound of Black*Star's favorite bar. She'd gone there at least three times a week during finals, dragging him back to the library so that he didn't drop out. From what she'd seen then, she knew it was mostly inhabited by dudebros in sports jerseys.

"Oh no. No, no. No way in hell am I spending my night watching you kill off what little brain cells you have Black*Star." She protested, "I have better things to do than see how many drunk college students can piss me off in the shortest possible time." 

"Pbbbbbbbttttt. What better things do you have to do? Sit around on your bed, watching shitty anime?" he laughed.

Damn him, Maka thought, he always did know how to trick her into getting what he wants.

"But come on, Maks. You worked hard on that application and life screwed you over, you need to forget about your study life for a night." Black*Star said, eyes sincere.

"You scare me when you're serious." Maka said, slightly taken aback.

"HA THAT'S BECAUSE I'M A GENEROUS GOD WHO LOOKS OUT AFTER HIS FOLLOWERS!" He bellowed, smacking her back with more force than was necessary.

"Alright." She agreed. "Let me go get my stuff and check in with Tsu. Why don't you call the others?"

"THAT'S THE SPIRIT BUTTERSTICK!"

Maybe Black*Star was right, she needed to forget about expectations and academics for a night, it would be good to let loose. Besides, it couldn't be that bad.


	7. Chapter 7

It was bad.

Maka, who had been in the bar for all of twenty minutes before she decided that she was going to kill her brother, was _not_ enjoying herself. Normally, Maka was not against going out with friends for some fun. Contrary to the straight laced vibe she gave off, Maka was no stranger to one-night stands and jello shots. She just usually preferred to chat with friends over a movie if she wanted to let off steam. She definitely had nothing on introversion when it came to Soul. But tonight, when Mort's was full of drunk college students celebrating the end of finals, Maka felt like pulling SharkStoner's signature move and receding to a dark corner to brood. It certainly didn't help that Ox Ford, her number one pain-in-the-ass-rival, was also in attendance, trying to drink away his heartbreak. Apparently, it took walking in on his ex going down on the building's RA to realize that she just wasn't that into him anymore.

"Girls only exist to break your heart man." He lamented to Harvar. Without his trademark glasses, it made it easy to see his rolled eyes.

"Ox, man, you guys have been broken up for a while now, there's no point in dwelling on it."

His comforting (or attempts at it) was exactly what Ox didn't want to hear, and he let out a wail as he signaled for another drink.

Having heard enough of the lamentations of a "nice guy," Maka made a beeline for the other side of the bar, where Liz was chatting with Patti.

"Maka! Black*Star said you were here, but I thought he was bs-ing like usual." Liz said when she saw her approaching.

"Nope." Maka said, popping the p. "He dragged me along."

Liz laughed at her brother's antics, which was easy when _she_ didn't have to deal with him. Still, the effort her brother had put to try to cheer her up (in his loud, roundabout way) did make Maka feel a little bit better. Even though Mort's atmosphere was amiable, though, Maka found it hard to not slip back into a pity party.

Everytime she took her mind off that stupid letter, the words came back ( _...this in no way reflects on your worth as an artist),_ going around in her head until she felt like punching something. Maka's patience with herself had reached it's end. Annoyed that she was letting it bother her this much, she resolved to drink from her cup every time she found her insecure thoughts rising.

For a while it worked, Maka forgetting most of her troubles and instead focusing on enjoying the warm fuzzy feeling in her head. It would have been even better if Liz had not decided this to be the perfect time to ask her about her nonexistent love life.

"You know, I heard Soul's planning on coming too." she commented innocently.

"Oh?" Maka asked, trying to pretend that her ears weren't red at the sound of his name.

"Yeah, which is weird because bars aren't usually his thing."

"Black*Star must have hidden his guitar again."

"Maybe. Speaking of which, 'Star was telling me that he started playing that a lot more recently, said he seemed to be preparing a song for someone or something."

Maka drank from her cup again, willing Liz to believe that her face was red from alcohol. She also tried to will her heart to stop doing the weird pitter patter default it had adopted for whenever Soul was mentioned.

"Maybe he's thinking of starting up a guitar club." Maka offered lamely, realizing too late that she had been silent for too long.

Liz didn't even grace that with a response, opting to instead give her a pointed look.

Patti, who had had more to drink than she should've, was currently making asymmetrical piles from empty glasses to annoy Kid, who was pretending not to care. It had apparently gone on long enough, because with a sort of shriek he darted to make the piles even again. Patti clapped, taking his outburst as a sign that she had won their little game.

"Patti, don't mess with Kid like that." Liz reprimanded her gently.

"Hee hee, okay sissy!" Patti said, then turning to Kid. "Don't worry Kiddo, everything's fine. Looky, the piles are uneven but the world's still in balance, so don't worry."

Kid who had now laid his head down on the bar in defeat, seemed to feel marginally better this.

"But getting back to your boyfriend." Liz said, lips curling in a way that scared Maka.

Maka nearly choked on her drink. "ffpph —He's not my boyfriend."

"Mmmm, the late night Xbox chats beg to differ."

Maka was _not_ avoiding eye contact, she just suddenly became interested in her split ends. Besides, how did Liz even know about those chats? It had been late and Maka had been extra quiet, afraid of waking up Tsu and the others. Liz didn't even _live_ with her dammit.

"What?" Liz asked, noticing Maka's face. "You don't think Tsubaki notices when her best friend is up at three am playing videogames? Please, that girl is like a gamer guru, she could hear the hum of a gaming console being used from her grave."

Maka groaned, sitting down and joining Kid bar. Maybe if she just put her head down here until closing time, Liz would grow bored and go look for someone else to interrogate.

"That doesn't mean anything you know." Maka complained from her self-imposed exile.

"Noooo. But you deciding that you can't meet my eyes when we talk about Sharkboy does."

Maka moaned, opting to bang her head against the wood before she said something else that Liz would use as ammo later.

"Hey hey minions! No head banging, it's supposed to be a partying night." Black*Star chose this exact moment to check up on her.

"Liz, why is my baby sister banging the bar and not one of your many available acquaintances?" He asked upon noticing her current state.

" _Black*Star."_

"Kinda difficult to introduce anyone when you gave the last guy she talked to a cracked rib." Liz commented breezily.

"HE WAS A WHINY MORTAL NOT WORTH BUTTERSTICK'S TIME."

"He was a whiny mortal with a nice ass." Liz retorted.

"THAT IS BESIDES THE POINT. I TRUST YOU TO FIND A PERSON WHO WANTS TO DO MORE THAN GET IT ON WITH MY SISTER!"

" _Black*Star so help me."_

"NO, MAKA, YOU DIDN'T KNOW THE GUY, HE THOUGHT WEARING SANDALS AND SOCKS TOGETHER IS GOOD FASHION. YOU CAN'T—"

" _Stop trying"_ WHACK " _to_ " WHACK " _hook_ " WHACK " _me up!_ "

Maka had had enough it seemed, and had resorted to whacking her brother with the book she had been carrying in her bag. Black*Star let out a wail and pretended to hide behind Liz.

"Okay, Okay! Obviously you're more into the pencil pusher type of guys. FEAR NOT MINION. I'LL GO ASK TSU IF SHE KNOWS ANY SEXY LIBRARIANS OR SOMETHING. STAY RIGHT HERE."

At this, Black*Star ran for the other side of the bar, presumably to find a sexy fun time partner for his virtuous sister.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Maka said rising. "If Black*Star back comes with a suitor hit him on the head with my book for me."

"Will do" Liz promised, turning her attention to Patti and Kid, who were trying to construct a tower out of chicken wings.

Maka really didn't really have to go to the bathroom but was rather just looking for an excuse to avoid her brother. So when she saw Soul waiting for Kilik outside the bathroom, she decided to keep him company.

"Hey." He called as she approached him.

"Hey yourself."

"I take it you're hiding from Black*Star?"

"What gave it away?"

"It might have something to do with how you keep looking around as if something's going to jump up behind you."

"That would do it." She laughed

"So is there a reason that Black*Star was asking me if I knew any not-straight girls to hook you up with?" he asked.

Soul had been planning on staying home but a text from Black*Star convinced him otherwise. In it, he asked if he knew any 'bros who had nice asses but _weren't_ asses' for Maka.

He was only here out of curiosity, and not because he was worried about what could have occurred that caused Black*Star to do a complete 180 from his usual "Save Maka's innocence" attitude.

It wasn't until he arrived later that Soul realized how changed Black*Star's attitude was.

"Soul, my man! I need a favor." He had said as soon as he entered.

"So I heard that you used to be pretty chummy with Jackie, right?"

Soul gave him a look, unsure of the direction he was headed.

"If you call 'using each other to convince our parents that she was straight and I was dating a normal girl in high school' chummy, then, yeah, pretty chummy," he said.

"Great! Just what I needed to hear!" Black*Star responded, almost exuberant. "So listen, do you think she has any also-not-straight-friends that she could introduce to Maka for me?"

"Umm I don't know? We don't talk much and most of her friends are—"

"Right, stupid question. You're too busy being snobby about music to notice a nice ass when you see one."

Soul made a noise of protest at that. He did know a nice ass when he saw one. He was just too much of a coward to comment on it (and the pair of legs attached) when the owner of said ass could probably kill him if she could read minds. Besides, it wasn't Soul's fault that Black*Star thought 8-bit covers of pop songs were cool.

"Anyways, why are you asking me this? I thought Maka said she was too busy with school to worry about relationships." Soul said

"Yeaaahhh about that, try not to talk about school around her tonight okay? It took some convincing to get her here and, knowing her, the nerd's probably reading as we speak. You gotta help me make sure she lets loose tonight okay, broseph?"

"Yeah sure." Soul answered, begging his brain to stop sending him ways that he could help her unwind.

That had been half an hour ago and Soul still was unsure how to proceed.

"He didn't." Maka groaned, covering her face with her hands.

She looked outraged. Or embarrassed. Or both. Whatever the reason, she was set on covering her face until the earth swallowed her up.

"He did." Soul said.

"Ugh, He's worried about me. He thinks that getting laid is the magical solution to making all my problems go away."

"Did something happen?"

"Nothing that I want to talk about right now." She grumbled.

Up until he asked, Maka had nearly forgotten about her rejection. Now though, the bitterness came back in force. She let out a heavy sigh, suddenly feeling exhausted.

Soul, noticing the shift in moods, rubbed the back of his neck.

"You know," he started, "You can talk to me about any—oomph."

This was the moment that Ox (no doubt heading to the bathroom himself) decided to drunkenly crash into Soul, cutting him off. Nearly falling, he grabbed onto Soul's arms for support. .

"Oh it's you." Ox sneered, noticing Maka.

He attempted to straighten himself but failed miserably and leaned on the wall for support.

"Hello, Ox. Where's Harvar?" Maka greeted tiredly.

"Pffft, gone to get a cab." He said bitterly, talking to himself more than her. "I'm perfectly capable of getting myself home."

"Right, well, nice talking to you. Now why don't you let go out Soul and we'll find Har—"

"What's the matter, Mah-ka?" Ox said mockingly. "Can't go more than five seconds without your boyfriend?"

"He's not my—"

"Not like it matters anyways, you'll leave him eventually. They all leave eventually," he whimpered.

Soul, for his part, look incredibly uncomfortable. He didn't know whether to let Ox fall or continue standing there as support.

"Ox, you're drunk." Maka said.

Maka had dealt with enough drunk people to know that Ox was just bitter because the 'love of his life' (who had on various occasions told him no) had decided to stop humoring him. He didn't mean any of what he said.

"Have you heard back from the Newberry Institute? I made it to the interview stage, they said that the top intern will be rewarded an automatic position upon graduation. Obviously I'll be getting it. Anyone who didn't make it to this point doesn't deserve success."

Had this been any other day, Maka might have been slightly more tolerant. But today, with the sting of rejection so fresh on her mind, she felt as if Ox had just insulted her mother. Everything felt dizzy and before she really could stop herself, she felt her fist connect with Ox's face, sending him sprawling out of Soul's arms.

For a moment, everything was silent except for Maka's heavy breaths. Until, that is, Ox registered the pain that is Maka Albarn.

"Ow, what the fuck, Albarn? What the hell is your problem?!" He yelled, rising in anger, clutching his jaw in pain.

"HEY, PLEBS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? WANNA SEE HOW MANY SHOTS I CAN TAKE IN TWENTY SECONDS?"

"Black*Star I _swear_ to God I will shove this book—"

"Woah, Ox, what the hell happened to your face? Did Kim finally get tired of your bullshit? HAHAHA" Black*Star cackled as if he had just made an incredibly funny joke.

"You and your stupid sister need go back to making your shit videos on youtube instead of bothering actually intelligent—

"Okay, I KNOW you didn't just diss my youtube channel pleb. And I'm POSITIVE that you didn't just insult my sister."

Harvar, who had returned, was trying to keep Ox from killing himself but his roommate apparently had other ideas.

"Of course I just did, idiot. What, did your godly hearing not catch—"

Ox was cut off by a punch to the stomach, strong enough to knock him over, sprawling into the bar chairs.

Kilik chose this exact moment to get out of the bathroom with a grin.

"Hey, man, sorry for the wait, it was pretty full...in there." He finished lamely, noticing Ox sprawling on the floor, clutching his stomach.

Soul was sheet white in terror. He had seen the look in Maka's eyes when she went to punch Ox and had never seen such rage...until Black*Star had punched Ox thirty seconds later. He looked at Maka, expecting to see more rage, and was surprised to see her staring at the floor, eyes red.

"Let's go, Butterstick," Black*Star told Maka quietly. "I've got a liver to kill."

Maka considered herself a patient person; she had to be, being related to Black*Star. On some level, she understood that Ox was just hurting and drunk, and that she should just walk away. On another, more primitive level, however, was the need to pummel his face until her knuckles bled. She settled on a compromise, and walked over Ox's hand as she followed her brother, making sure she dug her heel into his hand.


	8. Chapter 8

**Mid-May**

Knock, knock, knock.

There was no way in hell, Soul thought groggily, that someone was knocking on his door. He didn't know what time it was, but it was way too early for someone to be waking him up. He had to be imagining it, because if he wasn't, that would mean having to leave the comfort of his bed and opening the door. He strained his ears, praying to whatever God was online at the moment, that whoever it was at the door had left.

For a moment, everything was silent before he heard another faint.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

Please, Soul tried telling the person on the other side of the door mentally, go away. He distantly heard voices arguing and hoped that it was because they had realized that this was the wrong door. He was just about to go to that mythical place called dream world when he heard a louder

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

"Evans!" A voice called out, "Get out here before I break the door down."

"Godammit." Soul cursed before getting out of bed.

"What?!" Soul barked at the unsuspecting girl. "Tsubaki?" He asked, recognizing her.

She smiled sheepishly at him.

"Finally, I've been trying your cell all day. Get dressed and let's go." The other girl said.

It took Soul longer than it should have to recognize Jackie. In his defense, while his body was standing before them, his mind and spirit were back in his bed asleep. For a moment, he had thought that this _was_ a dream, and that he had been transported back to high school where he and Jackie were fake dating to keep her conservative parents off her back.

"Go where?" He asked, brain still not registering that he didn't have any pants on.

"You're taking Maka out for smoothies."

"I am?"

"Yes. She's been moping on the couch all week and everyone's been tip-toeing around her."

"So you had Tsubaki drag you here?"

"Of course. She doesn't like seeing Maka like that anymore than I do."

"Sorry, Soul. We tried talking to her but I think she needs to get out of the dorm." Tsubaki said guiltily.

Soul stood in his doorway thinking for a moment. Maka hadn't come to hang out ever since the night of the fight a couple days ago. He had stopped by her dorm a few times, sometimes bringing her takeout, but she had claimed a headache and stayed in her room. He figured she needed some space and had done his best to give her that. Still, Maka was stubborn and it was unlikely she would go out on her own.

"Let me put my pants on." Soul said, motioning for them to wait.

* * *

Maka was _positive_ that there was no one poking her in the legs. She was laying on her stomach, face buried in the cushions, desperately trying to avoid looking anyone in the face. She was doing a very good job at it and her roommates had wisely avoided talking to her for the last week. She tried staying absolutely still, hoping that maybe if she stopped, time would stop as well.

"Maka." A familiar voice said. "Get up."

Maka looked up and instantly recognized that patch of hair.

"No." She said, burying her face back into the couch.

She heard him sigh before she felt him try to pull her off the couch.

"Come on, your roommates are worried about you."

"I'm fine." Maka said as she now laid on the floor.

"Maka, Black*Star's planning on throwing thousands of copies of your resumé off the top of the Newberry building."

"Okay let's go."

After calling her brother to assure her that, yes, she was fine, and that no, he shouldn't throw papers off a building in anger, she found herself back in drinking a smoothie on a park bench. It wasn't until she finished her smoothie that Soul tried talking to her.

"It's not the end of the world, you know." He said, immediately regretting it.

"I know," Maka bit out, bitter tears rising out despite her best efforts.

"Wait, no, that's not what I meant, Look, what I mean is-you have to know that-you're better than that? I mean this. I mean them. Them. You're better than them. Shit, I'm bad at this."

"Yeah, no kidding, Is this how you usually comfort people?" She teased, laughing at his fumbling efforts.

"I bought you a smoothie didn't I?" he offered, grateful he was at least able to make her laugh.

"Look, Maka, what I'm trying to say is that you're brave and amazing and better and UGH you know what? Just-here." He exclaimed.

He reached into his pocket and brought out his phone and earphones, handing them to her.

"What's this?" Maka asked, confused.

"Just listen, please." he told her.

Maka did, and she let out a small gasp at the sound of the opening chords. It was the song she had heard Soul playing when she walked in on him all those months ago. She felt herself panic, Soul knew she didn't understand music. Why would he show her something so personal when it was just sounds to her?

" _Maka_." Soul reprimanded her, noticing her expression. "Don't _think,_ just listen."

So she did

The sudden sound of piano playing surprised her yet again. It started out dark but moved with the guitar to create the sound that she knew represented their meeting. Soul's story continued, weaving itself with his music. It was then that she understood what Soul was trying to say. This was a culmination of everything he had been feeling for the last few months. He could never put this into words, and if he could, it wouldn't be the same.

When it was over, Soul was staring at her expectantly, gauging her reaction.

"So yeah, that's what I think of you and that's why you won't let this get you down forever." He said uncomfortable. Why wouldn't she say anything?

Maka shook her head slightly. How could anyone ever call this anything but beautiful?

"It's amazing, Soul. It's the only piece of music that's ever moved me like that."

"Listen, Maka, even before we kissed, I knew how strong you—"

"You remembered the kiss?" Maka asked, shocked.

"I never forgot in the first place. Look, I know you might not feel the same way but what I'm trying to say is—"

"You knew and didn't say anything?"

"I didn't want to pressure you into anything! It's not cool to assume you liked me just because we were drunk."

"Soul, I _asked_ you to kiss me. I don't know how many more signals I can send."

"You were panicking! I saw it in your eyes!"

"Well I was afraid I was forcing you into something by getting you drunk!"

"Maka, I called you the prettiest girl in the room, how many more signals can I send?" he shot back.

"You were drunk!"

"Alcohol is practically a truth serum. Everyone knows that!"

"Well I didn't!"

"Dammit Maka, I love you but I'm trying to tell you how brave you are, can you stop yelling at me for five seconds?!"

Maka froze, her retort dying on her lips.

"Aw, shit, I messed it up again."

"You-you love me?" Maka asked.

"No, yes, I mean. Ugh." Soul groaned. "I don't want you to feel obligated but yes. Yes, Maka, I've been in love with you for a while and I know you don't believe it but I'm not going anywhere. So believe me when I say that you're strong enough to—"

Soul was interrupted yet again by Maka reaching over to kiss him. His lips were chapped but she was okay with that because she was Mkaa and he was Soul and they would work on their technique. Still, Maka thought, as she used her hand to clutch his shirt, there was no way that she was ever going to give this up.

"Okay, but who's going to tell Black*Star?" Soul wondered as they came up for air.

"No idea." Maka said, connecting their lips once more.


	9. Chapter 9

In the end it was Liz's idea.

She was the first person Maka went to after officially dating Soul. After the initial squeals at having been proven right, she listened to Maka's predicament. How was she supposed to tell her brother without him going on a manhunt for Soul?

Although Liz's first suggestion had been "Just tell him, he'll be thrilled that you're finally getting laid."

She eventually came up with a plan.

Since she was studying to become a lawyer, one of her assignments was to find an old archaic law that was still legal and either argue why it should be dissolved or why it should be kept. After research Liz had found that in California, if two people wanted to be together but a member of one of their families was against it, the couple had the right to fill the opposer's room stuffed birds until able to convince them otherwise.

"Patti, are you ready?" Liz asked, pointing the camera at her.

"Yup!" She chirped, facing her sister. "GOOD MORNING MINIONS! This is Patti 'The Blonder Terror' Thompson filling in for that annoying blue haired monkey. Today we're here on a quest for love."

"This is stupidly insane." Soul, muttered to Maka as Patti continued to tell the viewers their plan, detailing how they had even a volunteer in a turkey costume to follow Black*Star around all day (it was Patti).

"You're right." Maka responded. "But 'Star loves a commotion and if this gets us more subscribers then he can't really complain."

In reality, she was doing this more for herself. She and Soul both knew that it didn't matter what her brother said, Maka Albarn dated whoever she wanted. This was really just payback for having lost the bet so many months ago.

"Now it's time to meet our two lovebirds!" Patti sang, having finished her explanation.

"You know him as SharkStoner but she knows him as lover, let's give it up for SOOOUUUL EVAAAANS!" She yelled in her best ring announcer voice.

Her tone of voice was doing nothing to calm Soul's mind.

"Fighting alongside him is a fighter you've never met! She's the one responsible for all the nice art on the website, she can kick your ass in her sleep, and she's Black*Star's sister, let's hear it for MAKAAAA ALBARN!"

Maka tried not to notice all the people who were openly staring at Patti's antics.

"Let's get this show on the road!"

The prank went off better than planned. Black*Star ran out of his room covered in turkey feathers yelling, "SOUL DID YOU BANG MY SISTER? MAKA DID YOU FINALLY GET LAID?"

"I guess he found the note." Soul declared wryly.

Black*Star caught sight of them and looked ready for a fight but he was followed by Patti in a turkey costume who yelled "HAPPY TURKEY LOVE DAY. HAPPY TURKEY LOVE DAY."

Maka tried to not laugh _too_ hard as Patti chased her brother up a tree. She knew that he would get her back, but that's okay, he would cool down once she saw the new subscribers this stunt earned them.

It turned out that Black*Star was not _entirely_ okay with being chased by a turkey, but his mood on it (and Soul and Maka's new relationship) improved drastically.

Especially when he saw the subscriber count was over a million.


End file.
